If
there’s any comfort for churches that are struggling, it’s knowing their church
isn’t alone; many others are also having a hard time keeping the doors open and
people engaged.

But not
all the news is bad. Some churches are trying and finding new ways to do ministry
that are working or showing real promise. Problem is, few others know about
them—denominations can be siloed, and there are few ways of sharing information
between them. How can church leaders find out about successes in other
denominations?

Find ways
to share new ideas is the goal of “Behold I do a new thing! Emerging
perspectives on ministry,” a one-day conference on May 9 for clergy and others
involved in ministry.

The goal
of the Ted Talk-style event, which will run from 9 AM to 2:30 PM at Charleswood
United Church, is to provide learning opportunities for clergy and religious
leaders in Winnipeg, and also help them develop new relationships across
denominational lines.

“Everyone
is in the same boat,” says Michael Wilson, minister at Charleswood United
Church and one of the event’s organizers.

“The
questions that are being asked by people at one church are being asked by others.
By coming together, we will find we have a lot to learn from each other, to see
what kinds of creative things are happening locally.”

For
Wilson, the event is also a personal project that begins with his own interest
in theological education.

As a
minister, he knows that continuing education is important and valuable. But there
are limited options in Winnipeg; most of the conferences for those who are
involved in ministry are costly and far away in the U.S. and other parts of
Canada—many people in Winnipeg can’t afford to attend them.

“We live
in a place that is kind of remote” from those opportunities to learn more about
creative ways of doing church, he says. “It is harder to find resources.”

Seeing a
gap, he approached leaders from other church groups, along with the University
of Winnipeg Centre for Theological Studies and Canadian Mennonite University,
to ask if they wanted to come together to sponsor some educational events.

“Once
people got together to talk about it, the idea caught fire,” Wilson says.

The
event, which will feature local theologians and leaders from Anglican,
Catholic, Mennonite, United Church and Lutheran churches, will be a time for attenders to "get out of their silos and learn from each other," Wilson says.

"I'm sure God doesn't care if a good idea comes from another denomination."

Finding
ways to work together locally across church lines is also important since “denominationalism
as we have known it for a long time is not a model that is working anymore,” he
says.

The “locus
of ministry shifting from the denomination to the congregation,” he adds,
noting that more than ever the question is “what does a local community feel
the spirit is calling them to do?”

At the
same time, churches are also facing challenges about diversity—gender, racial,
linguistic, and sexual, along with needing to find ways to promote
reconciliation with Indigenous Canadians.

“These
are the growing edges, and we want to get together with others to see what they
are doing about them, and what we can learn from each other.”

In
addition to the event on May 9, the organizing group is planning other
educational events for Winnipeg in the future.

On October
2-3, they are bringing in Anna Carter Florence, professor of preaching at
Columbia Theological Seminary and author of Rehearsing
Scripture: Discovering God’s Word in Community.And on May 7-8, 2019, well-known
speaker and author Diana Butler Bass will be here.

Cost of “Behold: I do a new thing!” is $40 and
includes lunch. Registration information is available on the Charleswood United Church website at or by calling (204) 832-3667.